How To Choose
by DanielAmos123
Summary: This follows on from the end of season 4. Alex escaped the attack on her. Piper is trying to keep it together. Stella Carlin is out of Max. We still have our little love triangle and when all the cards are down, how will it end? Alex might want to start a fight, but does Stella even want to hear out the girl who threw her in Max? Let's see what happens. Hope you like it!


**Orange Is The New Black**

 **Chapter One:**

What happened months ago still rung in Piper's mind. At first, when she saw Stella being forcibly towed away by guards into maximum security, she felt a sense of accomplishment and triumph. However with nothing else but her on her mind, she began to feel the strong feeling of guilt. Guilt for not giving her a chance to make up for it. Guilt for framing her. Guilt for sending her to maximum security.

Piper took a seat almost robotically on the edge of her bottom bunk. As it had been months, she admitted to missing the company of Stella and being able to relax and be free around her. Piper glanced up when she heard the light footsteps of Red coming around the corner to enter their cubicle. Red had been acting a little strange, and by strange Piper meant more sensitive and kind. As if she were in the dreamy state of falling in love or something bizarre like that. Piper watched her for a moment longer before staring at her hands.

"You know," Red began after shoving some shower stuff in her cupboard. "It's not healthy to just mope around the way you are. In fact it's a little pathetic, get over it. Alex is fine." Red shut the cupboard door with a light slam.

Oh, of course. Red assumed, rightly, that the reason she was down and moody was because Alex had a very close encounter with a hired man to assassinate her. A few guards, luckily, heard the screaming and came running. Alex walked away with a few bruises and that was that. It could have been a lot worse if it hadn't been for the guards being near by to take a piss outside while on duty. The night Piper found out was the night she couldn't stop crying.

However it happened a while back and Alex was back to being Alex again but a lot more paranoid.

"I know." Piper replied simply and didn't tell Red the real reason why she was acting so glum and miserable.

"Why don't you go and brush your teeth and have a wash before work." Red ordered more than asked her to do it. Piper didn't say anything, all she did was nod her head and get up. Once in the bathroom, Piper quickly brushed her teeth and rinsed her face clean. The water on her face felt relieving and she debated whether or not to take a shower but she decided that it would make her late for work and so left to head that way. At work she kept her head down until Flaca started rambling to her about nothing particularly important, just random chit chat. To which Piper joined in after a moment.

"Oh and I want to start wearing thongs instead, I want to feel even sexier." Flaca informed Piper with a little wiggle of her hips.

Piper forced a small smile. "Fine, we can sort something out."

Flaca flashed a triumphant grin and returned to flicking through her magazine.

Piper glanced up from her sewing machine and sneaked a peek at the empty seat where Stella Carlin used to be. It made something inside Piper ache so she snapped her gaze back to the sewing machine and carried on working.

Work had finished for the time being and it was lunch time. Piper walked with Flaca, who spoke all the way, and lined up in the dinner cue. Piper subconsciously let her eyes wander around the cafeteria and they stopped when they landed on a particular brunette with library glasses. Alex starred at her back with emotional eyes. Piper and Alex had an odd relationship. When one says it's over, it never seems to be the case. Their was always feelings there that could never be changed. Though saying that, it never stopped either of them from screwing each other over a millions times again. Piper stepped forward in the moving cue.

"Ya know, I seriously think they should serve some Pizza here." Flaca began with hand gestured. "I mean how much is a cheap box of pizza? They can afford that."

"Flaca they can't even afford qualified guards." Piper reminded.

"Hmm, true." Flaca agreed. "But I'm just so sick and tired of the same shit for dinner." She complained.

"Aren't we all." Piper grabbed her tray and wandered off.

"Hey, come sit with us." Flaca offered Piper when she stood still in the middle with her eyes caught in Alex's gaze. Piper turned her head to look at Flaca and the rest of the Spanish gang. Gloria glanced up and nodded, she didn't seem to care much. Piper took a seat next to Flaca and picked up her fork and fed herself the cheap disgusting sloppy stuff on her tray. Ugh!

"This might not be any of my business but..." A familiar voice Piper recognised all to well appeared and sat in the empty spot next to her. "When are you going to stop ignoring me?" Alex questioned her, facing her fully.

Piper looked up and rolled her eyes. "I'm not ignoring you."

"You haven't spoken to me in ages and you turn away when I look at you, what would you call that?" Alex spoke in a tone that made out that Piper was being ridiculous and stupid but she ignored that, ironically.

"It's called giving you space," Piper remarked and slowly turned her head to meet her gaze. "Because you broke up with me. Remember?"

Alex sighed in defeat. "I was angry Pipes."

"I was pissed off at you when you were acting crazy but I never broke it off with you." Piper reminded, and left out the fact that she had kissed Stella when all that was going on.

"You accused me of being jealous of you for being a better criminal than me." Alex pointed out.

"I was mad too." Piper excused.

"Yeah, and you were being a complete bitch." Alex snapped. Piper was about to get up and leave but Alex pulled her back down by the arm. "I'm sorry. I guess we were both kind of acting like children."

Piper stayed silent and thought on that for a moment. She was right. They had both been acting like children lately and Piper admitted to being selfish and cold recently. Maybe it was prison changing her.

"I'm sorry." Piper murmured softly over to Alex.

Alex was quiet and Piper felt her hand go over hers on the table. She looked to see Alex giving her a small smile with the same emotional eyes. "Are we okay?"

Piper was about to respond when something caught her eye. A brunette. One that she hadn't planned or thought she would have seen in a long time, if that. It could have been never. Dawdling at the back of the dinner cue, Stella gazed slightly upwards ahead diagonally and Piper couldn't quite figure out what she was looking at. Maybe it was nothing because Stella seemed to be in thought, but calm. Her being so calm was actually one of the things she knew to piss off Alex when she came stomping in on them talking about her family. Then Alex called her Justin Bieber. Piper kept her eyes glued to Stella and expected her to notice and look at her back but she never did.

What did catch Stella's attention, however, was Nicky in front of her in the cue. Nicky is back? Wow! Nicky waved a hand in front of Stella's face and then wrapped and arm around her shoulder as she gave he one of the 'Nicky lectures'. Knowing Nicky she was probably flirting with Stella and this made Piper uncomfortable but she didn't admit that to herself.

"Pipes?" Alex called her name when she didn't answer her question.

"Hmm?" Piper snapped her head over.

Alex examined her face for a moment. "Are we okay?"

"Hmm, oh, yeah, sure. We're fine." Piper stopped rambling and nodded, looking back down at her food and scooping it up into her mouth. Ugh! Piper swallowed and as she did she sneaked another look at the dinner cue. The little look lasted longer when she couldn't find her any more. Piper raised her head by extending her neck more and then she finally spotted her again before she could question whether it was her imagination. Stella had a grip of her tray and sat down opposite Nicky who was sat by Lorna. Again, Piper expected Stella to notice her starring but she never did notice. She was grateful though because it gave her time to actually look at her properly and see that she was looking as great as she remembered in her head. _I'm in trouble,_ Piper sighed inwardly.

Without warning, Piper felt lips on her cheek and she froze momentarily. Alex pulled away gradually. "Good, then maybe you'll stop starring at a girl you can't have and focus on the one right next to you." Alex whisked her tray away and left with that.

Piper watched her leave and huffed, playing with her food.

"She's right you know," Flaca quipped in. "You really screwed that chick over. Like, big time."

Piper kept her eyes on Flaca and knew how true she was, then she ogled Stella again having a drink. Piper's argument was that she deserved it but she knew it was a low blow to frame her the way she did. It was ice cold in fact. At least she was back and now Piper could stop missing her. Maybe she should talk to her at work.

 **Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think! I'm not sure who Piper will end up with, you'll just have to wait and see! Enjoy the ride lol! Please review!**


End file.
